Fullmetal Alchemist: The Lost Ones
by sharia013
Summary: After an attempt of human transmutation gone wrong, two teens are ripped from their home and thrown into the country of Amestris before being separated from each other. Now one must travel through an unfamiliar place to locate her friend and find a way to return to their home. One question remains: How much must she lose for this price?
1. Chapter 1

Oh god… My head… Everything feels numb… What… What's happening… Why do I … I feel sick… So weak…

_Hey! Are you okay?_

Who is that… Where am I… Why can't I see… I can't move… Can't speak…

_Oh God- Someone call a doctor! She's losing a lot of blood!_

Who is… What's going on… My head… So dizzy… So tired… Tired…

* * *

Everything seemed faded. Every sound was muted. Every touch was numb. I felt too weak to even open my eyes. All I could hear were distant voices, talking to each other as if from far away. When I found my eyelids opening, as if by themselves, all I could see was a dim and blurry light along with unclear shapes and silhouettes. I blinked, my eyelids feeling heavy and dragged down, to try and regain my vision.

Slowly, my surroundings faded into focus and I found myself facing a light tan ceiling. Turning my neck felt like pulling a concrete block; it was too painful to even move an inch. I unintentionally let out a short and low exhale of pain and the feeling of soft cotton touched my fingertips. I gripped the cotton and glanced down to see a thin sheet laid over my body, covering up my chest and flowing down to my feet.

"Wh… Wha…" My breath came out in harsh and dry gasps as my vision cleared and I began to look around. All I could see from my perspective was the corner of what looked like a window in one corner of the room and the corner of a doorframe on the other side.

The sound of the door creaking open was heard an instant two men in light green outfits came into view, looking down at me with blank expressions.

"What's going on? Who are you?" I wanted to ask, but my throat felt too dry and tight to even utter a sound.

The men leaned over me and I could feel the pillow I was resting on rise, moving me into a laid-back sitting position and giving me a better view of my surroundings. The men stepped back and I found myself lying in a hospital bed with light sheets spread over me. A window was pulled open in one corner of the room, letting in warm air and bright sunlight, and a strange symbol was framed in a picture across from where I was facing.

The two men in the light green outfits suddenly raised their hands in salute and a few moments later, a young man in a blue uniform strode into the room. His brown hair looked bushy and soft and his light blue eyes shone in innocence behind a pair of glasses. He gave me a kind smile then muttered something to the two other men, who saluted again then left the room, closing the door behind them.

I watched the young man as he walked to the end of my bed and looked down at me, feeling my fingertips grip the bed sheets. He seemed nice, but I had enough sensed left to know that he could be an enemy.

"Finally awake, huh?" the young man asked, smiling. "How are you feeling?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but the only sound that came out was a hoarse breath. I gritted my teeth and slowly lifted a hand to my throat, tracing my fingers over the skin. The man seemed to understand, for he nodded and assured me he would find something to help before quickly leaving the room.

Once he had shut the door behind him, I gave the room a second glance. I figured that I had to be in a hospital room of some sort, but I found myself puzzling over the picture facing me on the other side of the room. It appeared to be a crest drawn on parchment with ink, but the only shape I could recognize was one that resembled… A lion? Or was it something else? A monster?

Yearning to get a better look, I moved my arms back and pressed my hands against the mattress before attempting to lift my body up to a better sitting position. My arms shook with the effort and I barely moved an inch before I gave up and slumped back into the pillow, giving out a frustrated sigh. I was too weak, tired, or drugged to move normally.

The door opened a few moments later and the young man from before strolled into the room, carrying a glass of water in one hand. He pulled up a chair from the corner of the room and sat at my side, handing me the glass. "D'you think you're alright enough to hold this?" he asked.

I nodded and slowly took the glass, raising it to my lips and taking a sip. As soon as I felt the cold water run into my mouth and down my throat, I could feel my parched vocal cords return to life and I immediately began to cough.

"Careful!" the young man intervened, taking the glass from my hands. "You don't want to accidently choke yourself!" He waited until my coughs slowed and I managed to clear my throat a few times before asking, "Better?"

I glanced at him and nodded. "Yes… Thank you…" I said, my voice hoarse.

The young man smiled. "I'd hate to force you to use your recovering voice, but I'll have to ask you a few questions," he explained. "Military protocol requires interviews with suspicious characters and all that."

_Military? _I glanced the young man over and got a closer look at his uniform. _Guess that explains the outfit._

"Alright," I agreed. "I might not be able to give you much though."

The young man gave me a suspicious and curious look and I placed a hand on my forehead. "As much as I would like to help you out the best I can, I can barely remember only a few things about me," I explained.

As my words slipped out of my mouth, I realized I wasn't even trying to lie. My brain felt light and fuzzy and whenever I tried to remember anything before waking up in the hospital, all that stood out to me was the feeling of numbness and a voice shouting out to me.

The man stared at me for a few moments, deciding whether or not to believe in me, before sighing in an almost exaggerated manner. "All right then. I guess I'll just tell my superiors that I wasn't able to get anything out of you," he relented.

I gave the man a confused and slightly worried look. "…Superiors?" I slowly asked.

He looked back up at me and gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'll just tell them that you were still knocked out," he said. "I'll have to come back in the morning though and ask some questions. Until then, get as much rest as you can so you can recover faster and it'll be easier for me to help you."

I continued to stare at him, my mind feeling confused and empty. "Recover? Was I…injured?" I asked, almost feeling angry with myself for not even noticing any injuries or wounds.

The man, about to get out of his chair, sighed and slumped back down. "Jeez, you really are having memory problems aren't you?" he asked, slightly concerned.

I blinked and slowly nodded. I didn't feel any pain or stiffness. In fact, my entire body still felt numbed. The young man leaned forward and clasped his hands together.

"You probably don't remember this, but last night you were found in the streets near Central Command by myself and a few of my comrades," he quietly explained. "You were lying in a pool of blood and when we brought you here, to Central Hospital, we saw that you had deep cuts going down your chest and stomach. We didn't even think you would make it."

_Deep cuts?_ I quickly lifted the collar of my hospital gown and glances down, looking for wounds. In the shaded darkness between the gown and my body, nothing stood out to me and I let out a sigh before looking up at the man.

"Trust me. It's pretty bad," the young man said. He stood up from his chair and stretched out. "Anyway, I should get going. Gotta report to my superiors about your condition."

"Oh… Alright," I reluctantly muttered. As much as I felt tense and distrusting about this unfamiliar place, it felt a bit comforting to have even one person to talk to.

The young man seemed to notice my tone of voice, for he smiled reassuringly and said, "Don't worry. I'll come and check on you tomorrow morning. You just focus on getting some rest and recovery, young lady."

A small smile slipped out and I nodded before lying back and watching the man walk over to the door. As he put his hand on the doorknob, he turned back to me and beamed. "I don't believe I've introduced myself yet. I'm Sergeant Harrison Carter, but my friends call me Harry."

I blinked, giving him a confused look. "Sergeant's your first name?" I asked.

The young man, Harry, laughed. "No, it's my military ranking in the state military," he explained, his tone lighthearted.

"Oh… Right," I mumbled, feeling embarrassed. My memory loss suddenly seemed like a big nuisance, and I silently cursed myself for not even being able to remember my own name. Before I could begin searching through my brain for any memories, Harry bid me farewell and left, leaving me alone in the unfamiliar hospital room.

As the door closed shut, a bombardment of questions hit me at once, throwing me off guard for a brief moment before I slapped a hand to my forehead. "Damn it! Why didn't I ask Harry these before he left?" I grumbled, feeling like an idiot. "Guess I'll have to wait until the morning."

I lowered my hand to my side and stared at the hospital wall, looking over the strange, framed symbol over and over again. Instead of resting, I found myself asking questions in my head and racking my brain in attempts to gain access to my memories as the sun slowly began to sink in the sky. I could hear footsteps walking past my door outside, but no one else came in to visit me. It wasn't until the sunlight began to fade that I found myself dozing off into sleep.

* * *

"_Water: 3.5 liters. Carbon: 20 kilograms. Ammonia: 4 liters. Lime: 1.5 grams. Phosphorus: 800 grams. Salt: 250 grams. Saltpeter: 100 grams. Sulfur: 80 grams. Fluorine: 7.5 grams. Iron: 5 grams. Silicon: 3 grams. And small traces of other elements…"_

_I smiled as I read off the list, closing the small black notebook I held in one hand as I finished. "There. Every single element in the human body, carefully measured and mixed together," I concluded. "Now to draw the transmutation circle."_

_I reached into my jean pocket and pulled out a small stick of white chalk as I glanced around the dark room. Once a large bedroom that belonged to a boy, it had been stripped of its previous furniture and belongings to make room for the transmutation. Even the carpet had been ripped away in order to uncover and make use of the concrete floor underneath._

_My gaze caught on to a teenage boy sitting against one side of the room. His knees were pulled up to his chest and his arms were hugged tightly around them, his face hidden in shadow but his head angled to face the floor. Despite the distance between us, I could feel the anxious tension emitting from him as I noticed his body letting out a few shivers every so often. He seemed to sense my staring at him, for his head raised and I could feel his eyes gazing at me._

"_Are you okay?" I asked._

_He hesitated before nodding and dropping his gaze back to the ground. I stared at him for a few moments, wondering if I should try to help, before I remembered the task at hand. Turning my attention back to the floor, I crouched down and began to draw a large, white circle around the room. I could feel the boy's eyes on me as I added intricate details inside the circle until it was completely finished. _

_As I double checked my work, I saw him slowly stand and walk over to the large tin of ingredients, moving it to the middle of the circle and taking a look around. Once I had made sure that everything was in place and in order, we stepped back to the edge of the circle and stood next to each other, looking down at the symbols and designs. For a moment, the urge to back down spoke to me softly, but I brushed the feeling aside. This was the only way to see him smile again._

"_C'mon… Let's get this started before it gets too late," I whispered. _

_I didn't wait for a response. I reached into my hoodie pocket and took out my dad's switchblade, slipping the blade out of its sheath with a flick of my wrist. "Hold out your hand," I said, reaching for him. "You have to pay a toll for the equivalent exchange."_

_The teen hesitated before lifting his arm and I gently took his hand in mine, turning it so his palm faced me. He tensed as I muttered a quick apology and slit the knife over his pointer fingertip, drawing blood. I turned his hand back and held it over the middle of the transmutation circle, squeezing his fingertip to allow his blood to drop onto the ingredients. After several drops, he pulled his arm back and gave me an expectant look. _

"_I can't participate," I softly replied, shaking my head as I slid the switchblade back into my pocket. "My blood isn't a part of yours or your dads. If I get involved, I could screw things up."_

_He hesitated before nodding and crouching down in front of the circle, placing his hands at the edge. I took a step back and waited for the transmutation to begin. For a minute, nothing happen. It was then that I noticed his body trembling._

"_What is it?" I asked. "Do you want to stop?"_

_The boy barely shook his head before looking back at me. His steel blue eyes shone with hope and anticipation, but his entire body was tensed up and shaking._

"_What if… What if something goes wrong?" His voice was barely above a whisper._

_I sighed and gave him a reassuring smile. "What's there to worry about? We've spent five years of research and practice for this," I explained. "Our notes were flawless and everything is exactly the way it should be. You'll be able to see your dad in perfect condition soon."_

_The boy's expression lifted and he turned back to the circle, his back facing me. I considered giving him more words of encouragement, but before I could even open my mouth, a bright, golden light shone from the circle and illuminated the empty room. Alchemical sparks shot out from the circle, but none were close enough to hit the boy and I. I watched the transmutation in awe, feeling a smile tug at the corners of my lips._

"_It's working… It's actually working!" I exclaimed. "Jamie, you're-!"_

_I was suddenly cut off as the golden light vanished, replaced by a dark and ominous crimson glow. The alchemical sparks suddenly intensified, the length of their bolts increasing, and I looked around the room, feeling a growing sense of foreboding. _

Something's not right, _I heard a voice in my head cry out. _This isn't supposed to happen!

_A scream brought me back to reality and I turned my attention back to see a giant eye opening in the middle of the circle. Black hands and tendrils slithered from the edge of the circle, reaching out for me._

"_No! St-Stay back!" I shouted, quickly taking a few steps back._

"_SABRINA!" I heard a terrified scream over the crackling of the alchemical sparks, and I looked up to see the boy, my friend, being grabbed by the black hands and pulled to the center of the transmutation circle, where a bright light had appeared. A portal._

"_NO! DON'T TAKE HIM!" Immediately adrenaline kicked in and I sprinted to him, reaching out for him as I stepped beyond the chalk lines. As soon as I stepped into the circle, the black hands shot out at me and wrapped themselves around me, gripping me and pulling me back. I cried out and struggled against the tendril's grip before I froze, realizing that I began to lose feeling in my legs. Glancing down, I saw the black hands tearing apart my left leg and watched as the pieces flew into the portal._

_Time slowed down. My surroundings became muted and the only thing I could hear was my heart beating in my chest and echoing in my head. The portal grew brighter and brighter as I watched my friend being torn apart by the black hands, his lips forming my name and his eyes alit with horror and fear as he thrusted his hand out in an attempt to reach me. I could feel my entire body beginning to go numb as I pushed forward and reached out for him. The last thing I saw was our fingertips barely touching and the last thing I heard was my voice screaming his name before everything went white._

* * *

Images rushed through my head. Different moving pictures flashed by, each one only a split second long, as intense pain shot through my head. I tried to cry out as the images poured into my head as once, but no sound came out.

_This feeling… It hurts, but… Why is it so familiar?_

In a flash, the images vanished, leaving nothing but a white space of complete nothingness. Then, a chilling voice echoed around the room and I felt my entire body tense up as I recognized it.

_**Why are you so afraid, young alchemist? It's all about equivalent exchange, isn't it?**_

I snapped my eyes open and gasped, feeling my body suddenly spasm in released tension from my sudden awakening as my pain immediately vanished. I found myself staring at a dark tan, almost black, ceiling and after giving a quick look around, I realized I was still in the hospital room. Night had fallen outside the window, blanketing the entire room in darkness, the only source of light emitting from the moonlight shining across the floor and the edge of my bed.

I found myself breathing heavily and I put a hand to my forehead, feeling beads of cold sweat trickle down my face. My nightmare began to slowly replay through my mind as I tried to recall every image that I had seen, looking for some sort of meaning. After a few replays, I finally realized something that made me unintentionally let in a sharp intake of breath.

_Those were my memories coming back. I remember everything._

I pushed myself forward, feeling newfound strength return, and looked at my hands. They were trembling with exhilaration and fear as I realized the meaning of my nightmare. I gritted my teeth and pressed my hands over my face.

"That's right… I remember what happened… This is my fault…"

I quickly uncovered my face as I realized the words that had slipped out of my mouth and I shook my head. _No Sabrina. This isn't the time to feel bad about yourself, _I mentally scolded myself. _You have to figure out what to do next._

I nodded in agreement to my own thoughts and closed my eyes, concentrating on making a plan. _First, I have to figure out where I am. I remember Harry mentioning that he brought me to a place called Central Hospital, which I'm assuming is where I am now. He also mentioned a place called Central City… Is that where this hospital is located?_

I opened my eyes and glanced around the hospital room. Almost immediately, I spotted a pile of clothes placed at the very edge of my bed, along with a plate holding a sandwich and a note on top. I heard my stomach growl at the sight of food as I reached for the sandwich and notecard. "I didn't realize before how hungry I was," I muttered as I took a large bite out of the sandwich and read the note.

_Hey Girl,  
My superiors let me drop of some clothes for you and some food, but when I came in you were sound asleep, so I decided to leave these here and let you rest. I'm also getting the night shift watching you, so if you have any questions or you need anything else, just call for me and let me know.  
P.S.- I can't believe I almost forgot. __Führer King Bradley wants to see you tomorrow morning right away. Guess you must be important if the leader of Amestris wants to see you.  
-Sergeant Harrison Carter_

_I felt an eyebrow raise as I finished off the note, along with my sandwich. "Now we seem to be getting somewhere," I said to myself through a mouthful of food, reading the note through again._

_New questions and thoughts popped up as I began to make connections. __Let's see… This King Bradley is the leader of Amestris. I'm guessing Amestris is where I am now… And if Harry said I was in Central City, then this must mean that Amestris is the name of the country Central City is located in. Maybe it's even a continent. Even so, it sounds way more important than a town or a city._

_I set the notecard down and looked at my clothes. Folded neatly in a pile were a plain white t-shirt, a pair of black pants, and a pair of black slip-ons next to the pile. I looked over the pile again, slightly confused. "If this Führer seems like an important person, then why did Harry give me such simple clothes for a formal occasion?" I wondered aloud. "Am I considered a prisoner of some sort?"_

_I decided to brush off the clothing conundrum to focus on more important matters. I had found out that I was in a city called Central City in a country, or continent, called Amestris. I had been taken to Central Hospital when a military sergeant named Harrison Carter found me severely injured in the streets due to an attack. For a while I had lost my memory either due to an event blocking my memory or drugs. Fortunately, I managed to get it back and tomorrow morning I was going to-_

_The attack_

_Quickly remembering my wounds, I threw the sheets off of me and stood from the bed, stepping into the pale moonlight as I practically tore off my hospital gown and looked down at my body. White, sterile bandages covered my entire chest with dull red streaks marking where I had bled. I traced the bandages with my finger, my temptation to rip them off increasing with every passing second._

_These are medical bandages… They're too strong to be pulled off and I would only hurt myself more if I tried. I would need a sharp object to cut them off._

I let out an exasperated sigh of defeat. "Oh well. Guess I'll have to wait," I muttered. "Might as well get into these new clothes though."

I took the clothes from the edge of the bed and slipped into them. Both articles of clothing were a few sizes too big, as the t-shirt went down to my crotch and the pant legs started to cover my feet. However, the slip-ons fitted almost perfectly and I was at least grateful that I could walk around comfortably.

I glanced down at the note again as I adjusted my new clothes and reread it one last time. "Harry's outside, huh?" I turned my gaze to the door. As I stepped closer to it, I could hear a faint snoring from the other side, and I assumed it was Harrison accidentally falling asleep on the job.

_For a member of the military, he doesn't seem to take his job all too seriously, _I thought, amused. I reached for the doorknob and jiggled it, but stopped when I found it to be locked. _Since when do hospitals lock up their patients in their own rooms?_

I mentally shrugged and opened my mouth to call out for Harry, but I caught myself in hesitation.

_What will you accomplish by waking him up? __A voice in my head asked. __You've been given enough proof that you're still considered a prisoner. Sergeant Harrison's probably in on it too. He's probably acting like you can trust him, but when your guard's down he'll turn his back on you and take you back to the ones who locked you up before. You can't trust anyone in this unfamiliar place. The only thing you can do at this point is to escape and search for answers yourself._

_Search for answers… _A gentle breeze caught my attention and I turned my gaze to the open window. The cool night air gently brushed against my skin, beckoning me closer, and I found myself stepping to the windowsill and looking out into the night.

From my point, I could see I was on the second floor of the hospital. Bushes surrounded the base of the building with grass surrounding them to hold them in place. The grassy area stretched forward before being replaced with cobblestone, possibly for a loading dock, and continued on before going through an opening in a small, brick fence which separated the hospital area from the rest of the city across a wide street.

It was all so unfamiliar to me… But it looked so open and free.

_I need to get out of here, _I decided. _The sooner, the better._

I looked down at the base of the hospital, estimating the distance between the window and the bushes. _If I dropped out normally, I would probably achieve the unfortunate chance of injuring myself even more. I'll have to find a safer way._

Turning around, I looked around the room in search of something that could help before I noticed the bed sheets now crumpled at the end of the hospital bed. An idea struck me and I felt a wicked grin spread across my face as I took the sheets and started to roll them up and tie them together into a long, thin rope.

"Those nights of sneaking out of the house at 2 A.M. worked out after all," I giggled as I tied one end of the bed sheets to a bedpost.

As a test, I gave the make-shift rope a good yank. The sheets held together and the bed itself didn't move an inch. I allowed myself a moment to smile in satisfaction before tossing the rope out the window. I noticed that it only covered about an eighth of the distance between the window and the ground, but I hoped my body length would cover the rest. I sat on the windowsill, my back facing the night, and took the rope in both hands. I took one glance around the hospital room before leaning backwards and falling out.

As soon as I felt my legs leave the windowsill, I pulled my knees to my chest and gripped the bed sheets tightly, halting my descent as I quickly planted my feet onto the outside wall. For a moment I tensed, listening for anyone or anything alerting my escapes. When silence only met my ears, I let out a quiet sigh of relief before looking around. No one else was outside the hospital. At least none that I could see. Anxious, I looked down at the ground and silently began to "walk" down the wall.

It wasn't long before I reached the end of the rope and I looked down at the ground again. There was still a bit of distance between myself and the bushes, and I began to consider climbing back up into the hospital room to redo the rope when a tearing noise caught my attention. I looked up to see a tear forming a few feet above me and ripping quickly. Before I could even react, the rope tore apart and I began to fall. I felt nothing by air for a few moments and panic shot through me before my back hit the bushes and the loud sound of snapping branches and rustling leaves filled the silent night.

My eyes opened wide as branches scratched and dug into my skin and I let out an uncontrollable hiss of pain. The open night sky met my vision and I laid still for a few moments, listening for anyone that had heard my disturbance and had stepped out to check on the noise. However, the only thing I heard was the leaves softly rustling from the cool night breeze, and I quickly pushed myself out of the bushes and whipped my head around as I crouched onto the grass. Not a soul was out and it seemed like my noise had gone unheard of.

My gaze met the small brick wall a few meters ahead of me and I felt my heartbeat race, Freedom was so close… There was just that one, final stretch. I had to be quick, otherwise someone could look out their window and spot me. I tensed and leaned forward, pressing my fingertips to the ground as a track runner would, and took slow, deep breaths.

_You only have one shot! Don't screw this up! __The voice in my head shouted._

I closed my eyes and an image flashed through my mind. _The sun beat down on me as I crouched down and leaned forward, my fingertips pressing against the dry grass. Beside me, I could hear the grass crunch under his feet as he matched his body to copy mine and I glanced over at him. The sunlight and his dark brown bangs hid his face in shadow, but I could feel the eagerness emanating from him like heat from a burning flame._

_"Ready?" I asked, grinning._

_He turned his head towards me and I could see his steel blue eyes flash as he gave me a small smile and nodded. I turned my attention back to the wide, open field in front of us, my entire body quivering with excitement. "When I say go, we run!" I exclaimed. I could feel his body tense up as I counted down._

_3…_

_2…_

_1…_

My eyes snapped open and I took off like a bullet.

The night breeze whistled in my ears and whipped my hair back from my face as I sprinted across the hospital grounds. I could hear my feet rustle and press the grass down below me before it tapped over cobblestone as I neared my destination.

_Keep going!_

Almost instantly, the brick wall rushed up to meet me and I leaped over it, feeling a smile spread across my face as I soared through the air. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I continued to sprint across the street and into the safety of the shadows stretching from a large building. I slowed to a jog as I began to get farther away from the hospital, only stopping when I reached an alleyway. I pressed a hand to a brick wall and leaned against it, panting as I tried to slow my pounding heartbeat.

_Did I…do it?_

I slowly looked behind me and saw Central Hospital in the distance, now very far away from me. No one had followed me. No one even appeared to have noticed that I left. Everything was peaceful and silent.

I did it.

I grinned in relief and joy as I spun on my heel and looked up at the open night sky, throwing my hands up and letting out a silent scream of ecstasy. For so long I had been caged up and locked away from the outside world and being free and away from the people who had chained me up was as good as giving a starving man a feast. For the first time in a while, I felt hopeful for my future.

The happiness didn't last long however. Once I got a good look at my surroundings and realized that I was lost amongst Central City, reality hit me and my eagerness died down.

"No time for celebration," I reprimanded myself. "Time to start looking for him…"

I gave one last glance around before heading through the alleyway. I was in an unknown area all alone, with no one to go to or depend on…

But I was free.


	2. Chapter 2

"Sergeant Carter!"

Harry snapped his eyes open at the sound of his commanding officer's harsh bark and lurched out of his seat, quickly standing straight and saluting. "C-Colonel Coleman, sir!" he exclaimed.

The female officer stared back at him with a cold gaze. "Why have you fallen asleep at your post, soldier? Your job is to keep an eye on the prisoner and make sure she doesn't escape," she reprimanded bitterly.

Harry gulped and briefly nodded, pressing his salute deeper against his forehead. "Y-Yes sir! I promise it won't happen again, sir!" he shouted nervously.

Colonel Coleman narrowed her eyes at her subordinate. "It better not, for your sake," she growled. "We have strict orders from the Führer himself to keep the prisoner under custody until tomorrow morning. You know as well that she's your responsibility, Carter. If you screw something up…"

Harry internally scream as the Colonel quickly slit her finger over her throat and made a choking noise before turning away and walking down the hall. He was about to drop his arm back to his side but stiffened as he heard Coleman mutter, "I can't believe he bred such a failure of a son."

Harry felt his heart skip a beat and he gritted his teeth, holding back a cry of hurt protest. Colonel Coleman knew how to shoot in the places where it stung. He waited until Coleman rounded the corner of the hall and out of his line of sight before he dropped his arm, allowing himself to sag back into his chair and let out a heavy sigh. "She really didn't have to bring my dad into this situation," he muttered.

Colonel Coleman, Harry's commanding officer, seemed to hold a grudge against Harry ever since he had been placed under her command. It was frustrating for the Sergeant, as he constantly put in extra work to please her, but to no avail. True, he had fallen asleep on the job, but he wasn't used to working the night shift.

_Speaking of… _Harry stifled back a yawn as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, copper pocket watch, clicking it open and glancing at the time. "Close to midnight? Jeez, it feels like it's later than that," he said to himself, snapping his watch closed and glancing at the door he sat next to. "It doesn't help that I barely got any sleep last night after finding that girl."

_The girl… _Harry couldn't help himself as he began to reflect on the night before. It all started out with going out to a local pub with a few of his military comrades to celebrate a promotion for one of his buddies. Said friend had so many drinks that he could barely walk without stumbling on his own two feet, and as Harry hadn't drunk much that night, he was giving the unfortunate task of walking his friend home. As he arrived at the apartment that his buddy stayed at, a sudden flash of light through the nearby alleyway had caught Harry's eye. His comrade, in his drunken stupor, had panicked and ran into the building, yelling something about war breaking out in Central, while Harry rushed to find the source.

What he found was something he hadn't been expecting. A red-haired girl was sprawled out in the alleyway, her feet barely hanging off the edge of an open manhole. Her shirt had been ripped open as a large pool of blood steadily spread from three long cuts from her chest to her stomach; she appeared to be barely alive. Harry had wasted no time in searching for help and finding a way to stop the bleeding.

Luckily, a janitor from the apartment had stepped out to take out the trash and was able to run back inside to call for help. A few minutes later, the medics arrived and took the girl away while Harry was brought in for questioning. He was able to give the police a brief report on his findings as a witness before being dismissed and sent home. He had assumed that would be all he would be involved in regarding the girl, but he didn't know how wrong he was.

Early the next morning, Harry was summoned to Central Command and brought to a meeting with Colonel Coleman and a high-ranking General, directly from the Führer himself. The General explained that the girl Harry had found was a dangerous convict that escaped from the State Penitentiary in Central. She had been critically injured from her attempted escape and was placed in Central Hospital until she recovered, to which she was to be placed under the Führer's custody and taken directly to him immediately. Until that time, the General placed Harry and Coleman as the girl's guards, and the two were given strict orders to keep the girl under their watch at all times. He also ordered Harry to keep his information about how the girl was found under confidential evidence. No one from the public or even the military, other than witnesses at the scene and the police, were to know about her whereabouts.

Harry frowned. He didn't see why everything about the girl was to be kept a secret or even why she had to be so heavily guarded. When he had visited her that morning, she had seemed kind, honest, and exhausted from her injuries. Maybe she was only acting that way because of her amnesia, which was probably a result of the doctors giving her a heavy dosage of pain killers. Maybe she didn't even have amnesia and was only acting innocent from experience of being a criminal.

Now that he thought about it, her appearance did seem strange as well. After seeing her up close, Harry noticed that she appeared very different from the average Amestrian, with her bright red hair and olive green eyes. The way he had found her was weird as well. What was with that bright flash of light he saw before he found the girl? And how'd she get those scars. As a Sergeant, Harry knew his differences between wounds, and he knew that her injuries hadn't come from a gun, which he thought that the prison guards would try to injure her with, or even a sword. With all this in mind, he was starting to suspect that the General had secrets up his sleeve about the girl that he hadn't informed either Harry or Coleman about.

Shaking his head, Harry chuckled to himself as he ran a hand through his fluffy-like hair. _What am I thinking? I shouldn't be questioning the Führer's orders, _he thought_. __Maybe it's because I'm exhausted… I wish Coleman would help me out instead of bossing me around._

Even though Coleman was placed as the alternate guard, she had managed to weasel her way out of the job by hoaxing that she was behind in paperwork and had other subordinates to take care of. Harry had been stuck sitting in a chair all day with only two small breaks for lunch and dinner in between watch times. He couldn't blame himself for accidentally falling asleep on the job. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to make a major mistake if he fell asleep; the girl had been unconscious or resting for most of the day anyway.

_I should at least check on her to make sure she's alright, _he thought, standing and stretching his aching joints.

Before Harry had fallen asleep, he had heard soft whimpers coming from behind the locked door. When he opened it to check, he had found the girl curled up in her bed, looking as if she were in pain. Harry had attempted to wake her up, but she had remained in her fitful slumber, her nightmares keeping her away from the real world. It pained Harry to watch the young girl suffer from whatever plagued her mind, but he knew he was at a loss for assistance. All he could do was stand by and watch helplessly, ready to take action if her fits would escalate into kicks and screams. Eventually, however, the girl had relaxed and appeared to be at peace again, allowing the Sergeant to return to his post and fall into his own world of dreams.

Now, in the eerie silence of the empty hospital hallways, Harry could hear nothing from the other side of the door. He took it as a good sign and dug through his pocket, taking out a small key and unlocking the door to the girl's room with a soft "click". Quietly pushing the door ajar, he opened his mouth to whisper to the sleeping girl when the scene before him made the Sergeant freeze.

The hospital bed was empty. A gown lay crumpled in the corner and the clothes and food he had left for the girl had vanished. A string of tied-up sheets were knotted around a bed post and hung over the ledge of an open window that gave out the midnight view of Central City.

For several moments, Harry stood as stiff as a board as he took in the room, his mouth hanging open as realization slowly dawned on him. A single thought crossed his mind.

_Sergeant Harrison Carter, you're a dead man._

* * *

I sighed wearily as I paused in my walk for the hundredth time and looked around at my surroundings. I had stopped in the middle of an empty street, paved by concrete and lit up from nearby streetlights. To my left were rows of middle-class buildings, all looking exactly alike, and to my right was a stone bridge crossing over a river flowing between the streets. With the clear, starlit sky above me, I would have enjoyed the peaceful nightlife of Central City.

Sadly, I was more focused on trying to find a map.

"I'm really starting to get sick of being lost," I grumbled. "It doesn't help that most of these Central buildings look exactly alike as the ones a few streets away… Or did I just go in a giant circle?" I paused and looked down, continuing to mumble. "There's no way I could've. I was walking straight the whole time… At least I think I was."

I had lost track of how long I had been wandering as well. Half an hour? An hour? I couldn't tell. I hadn't even run into any civilians to ask for directions. Hell, I didn't even know where I wanted to go.

I glanced back in the direction I had come from and frowned, uneasy. "I wonder if Harry or anyone else in the hospital noticed that I'd left yet," I muttered. "If they have, I should try to find someplace that's at least a good hiding spot."

I surveyed my surroundings, taking a closer look. It seemed like the street ahead of me would only lead me down a similar street with more buildings that, of course, all looked exactly alike. I turned towards the bridge and noticed an alleyway between two shops at the other side. "Come to think of it, it's a bad idea to walk in these open streets if anyone's looking for me," I said to myself. "My best bet would be hiding out in the alleyways. Maybe I might even run into some hobos that know this city and ask for directions. Unless they try to mug me."

Shaking my imaginations out of my head, I stepped onto the bridge and began to cross it, taking a third glance around. _Now that I think about it, this city is pretty different, _I thought. _For a big city like this one, it's not as… oh, what's the word… Modern? Defiantly not like Minneapolis-_

My thoughts came to a halt as I suddenly noticed the silhouette of a woman standing in the center of the roadway. I stopped in my tracks and hesitated, trying to adjust my eyes to the darkness. I hadn't noticed her earlier at all. Either I had overlooked her in the darkness, or she had just appeared out of thin air.

A streetlight across the bridge gave me a better view of the woman as I quietly stepped closer. Long, black hair covered her facial features while her body was turned towards the water flowing under the bridge. She was leaning against the parapet, her arms propped on the stone and her hands cupping her chin, appearing to be at ease.

_…As much as I appreciate that I'm not alone now, why is there a random civilian on a bridge so late at night? _For a moment, I hesitated. She seemed familiar, as if I had met her somewhere before… As if she was someone I feared…

_Come off it, Sabrina,_ I scolded myself. _The dark is just probably playing tricks on you. Besides, if you're going to get anywhere, you can't assume every single person is an enemy._

I pushed my fears aside and began to approach the woman. "Excuse me!" I called out. "Can I ask you something?"

The woman barely turned her head in my direction, her hair covering her eyes. I smiled in a friendly manner and waved. "I'd hate to bother you, but I'm a little lo-"

My breath caught in my throat as the woman turned to face me and stood at full height. She brushed her bangs aside, uncovering her violet eyes as a cool smile spread across her luscious lips. My eyes drifted down to her chest, where a red tattoo was marked just above her revealing cleavage.

_No… Not her… Not them… Not again!_

"There you are," the woman said, her voice silk smooth. "You've been causing some unnecessary trouble for running off like that."

Panic and fear made my body freeze up and my heartbeat quicken. I shakily took a step back and she matched my footsteps, strolling towards me, her hips swaying. "You have nowhere to run," she said, a smirk playing at her lips. "Save yourself the trouble and give yourself up."

A growl sounded from behind me and I whipped my head around, looking back in desperation. A short man stood at the end of the bridge, staring at me with empty, glowing eyes. His body and head were round with fat and a trail of drool was sliding down from the corner of his wide mouth. "Lust, can I eat her?" the fat man asked, his voice high and shaky.

_Eat?! _I felt my eyes widen in horror. "No Gluttony. She's an important sacrifice, and we need her alive," the woman, Lust, spoke up.

_Sacrifice? For what?! And what the hell's with these names?!_

The fat man called Gluttony pouted and sniffed, but his expression lifted as Lust continued, "However, she's been very troublesome and she needs punishment. I suppose you can take a few bites out of her."

A wide and toothy sneer spread across Gluttony's face and he lunged towards me, letting out a howling cry of hunger. I swiveled around in time to see the woman leap forward, her fingers extending into long, sharp claws as she reached out for me.

For a split second, my mind raced. Time seemed to slow as I looked over my options. Two people were going to attack me from either side and a river blocked any other access of escape. I wasn't a very good swimmer either; I could easily get swept away by the current. That left only one option.

_Time to go up, up, and away._

I clapped my hands together and crouched, slamming them onto the ground. A bright, blue light flashed and alchemical sparks shot out from beneath my palms, spreading out in a wide radius around me. A moment later, the stone under me quickly rose up into the sky, launching me above my two attackers. The growing stone tower began to lean towards the look-alike buildings and I urged it forward, preparing to leap towards the rooftops.

The tower suddenly jerked and I gave out a cry as it leaned too far forward and began to fall to the ground. Taking a fast moment to brace myself, I leaped forward and reached out for the nearest rooftop, the distance between myself and the building closing. My fingers reached the edge and I gripped on, feeling my body swing and slam into the wall, almost knocking the breath out of me. I glanced down at the ground and saw the stone tower crumbling, pieces of debris splashing into the river and others smashing into the street. No doubt the collapse would make some noise and attract the attention of any civilians in the area, but my number one priority was getting away from my pursuers.

Who were starting to approach the building that I hung from.

Adrenaline kicking in, I pulled myself up to the roof and scrambled to my feet, sprinting across the flat rooftop. A hungry cry from Gluttony pierced the silent night before I heard a loud crunching sound behind me and the ground under my feet shook. Stumbling and glancing over my shoulder, I saw him land on the rooftop, his weight causing cracks to spread across the roof and making a dent under his body, before he snarled and charged at me, almost going on all fours.

Despite his seemingly massive weight, Gluttony caught up to me in a matter of seconds and lunged forward to tackle me, his mouth wide open and his tongue flying out. As his body left the ground, I quickly skidded to a halt and ducked low, feeling his belly skim over my head before he crashed into a vent a few meters in front of me.

Quickly standing and whirling around, I faced Gluttony as he pushed himself up from the rubble. He turned towards me and I felt a shiver run down my spine as his blank eyes and teeth glowed in the moonlight, a wide sneer spreading across his fat face.

_Dammit. This guy is too fast to outrun. And I doubt I can beat him in a fight either, _I thought, grimacing. _Just what the hell is he?!_

"I smell your blood… I want to eat your blood!" Gluttony exclaimed, his voice quivering with delight.

I winced and briefly pressed a hand to my chest. Pain had begun to sting across my body and I had barely realized it until then. If I pushed myself any further, my wounds would reopen if they hadn't already started. I had to get away from my two attackers before then.

_Speaking of which, _I realized with a start, _where did that lady go-_

I heard the air ripple behind me and I spun around as Lust leapt forward, slashing at me. Her dark and elongated fingers came into contact with my body and teared through it, ripping apart my t-shirt and bandages. I opened my mouth in a silent gasp of pain and surprise as blood spurted out of my reopened wounds, beads of blood flying through the air as Lust flicked her fingers and smirked at me. I wrapped my arms around my body to try and cover up the wound and doubled over, emitting a harsh cough as I stumbled back a few steps. My heels stepped over the edges of the rooftops and I pivoted backwards, losing my balance as gravity took over and I plummeted into an alleyway.

I screamed out as my back slammed into a pile of trash bags, hearing a loud "CRUNCH" and praying that it was merely from the junk and not from my already injured body. The world around me spun and my vision faded in and out as I gripped my chest, heaving and panting from the building pain. I barely even realized Lust had jumped down and landed in front of me until she leaned down and cupped my chin in her fingers, tilting my head back and forcing me to look into her vivid, violet eyes.

"You've already caused enough trouble for us, little sacrifice," Lust said, a cold smile spreading across her lips. "Just give up now before we're forced to hurt you even more. Not that we wouldn't enjoy it."

I gritted my teeth and went to clap my hands together, but Lust was quicker. A clawed finger shot out and dug into the palm of my left hand as I lifted it, pinning it against the bricked wall. Burning pain shot through my arm and I screamed out, feeling my body uncontrollably convulse.

"Your alchemy won't help you this time," Lust said, the pain escalating as she dug her finger deeper into my hand. "It's pathetic how you rely on alchemy as your only weapon. And now that you can't use it, you're hopeless."

I glared at her, feeling tears of pain escape the corners of my eyes. "D…Don't you dare underestimate me," I growled, my voice weak and trembling.

Lust let out a cold chuckle. "You can't even boast with strength in your voice," she mocked. "Your useless taunts won't save you-"

She stopped as she noticed a bright glow emanating from my right hand, and I couldn't help but release a small smirk as her expression faltered. My hand was pressed up against the wall, where I had drawn a transmutation circle in my own blood. "I don't need to rely on clapping, you know. I'm still an alchemist at heart!" I managed to raise my voice to a yell, the light shining even brighter as sparks shot out.

A long and thin spear formed from the brick wall and shot forward like a bullet, cutting through the air and stabbing Lust through her shoulder. She gave out a surprised and pained gasp and took a few steps back, pulling her nail out of my palm and reaching over to grip the spear.

"You-," she began, only to stop again as I quickly clapped my hands together and slam them down on the ground, trying my best to ignore the surging pain through my palm. Through my pain and fear, I felt my alchemy strengthen beyond control and alchemical sparks crackled in the air as the ground beneath my fingertips burst forward, forming into three spikes and impaling Lust through her chest and palms. She choked as she was forcefully pinned to the opposite wall and coughed up blood, her body twitching and convulsing a few times. I staggered to my feet as the woman struggled in vain before going limps, her bangs falling over her face as blood seeped through her wounds.

I clutched at my own bleeding scars and stared at her limp figure. A tense silence seemed to fill the entire world as I realized that what I looked at was Lust's dead body.

_Is she…? Did I really…?_

I shook my head, answering my own thoughts. "You monster… I've watched you die before," I whispered. "You're not done yet-"

"LUST!" An inhuman screech broke the silence and I spun around to see Gluttony drop from the rooftops and charge at me. I had almost forgotten about him. Springing into action, I staggered back and clapped my hands together, pressing them to the ground. The concrete rose up and formed into a thick wall, posing as a barrier between myself and my two adversaries. A split second later, the wall shook from the force of Gluttony crashing into it and a crack went down the middle. Pain shot through my left hand and chest, and I gritted my teeth, hugging myself around the waist.

_If I keep fighting like this, I'm gonna pass out! _my thoughts raced. _I gotta find help!_

I whipped around and headed out of the alleyway, keeping a hand pressed to my reopened wounds to try and slow the bleeding. Each step I took sent pain jolting through my entire being, forcing my pace to a slow and stumbling jog as I headed down the streets of Central. My heartbeat pounded in my head and black dots danced in my vision as I glanced around for signs of help.

_This isn't good! _I panicked, hearing my breath come out in labored gasps. _I'm either gonna pass out or they'll find me again and-_

My thoughts halted as I caught on to a bright light shining through an open window of a small, nearby building. _Help! _Gathering the last of my strength, I rushed towards the light, staggering as I felt my mind become light and dizzy. I didn't waste any time checking to see if anyone was inside as I got closer. All I wanted was to seek help and shelter from my attackers.

I grabbed the windowsill as I reached it, about to pull myself inside, but I found myself lurching forward and toppling in headfirst. I fell flat on my face, with the rest of my body following, but I felt too strained and in pain to care. I moaned involuntarily and struggled to push myself up to my hands and knees, looking down at my chest as I did so. Blood was dripping from my wounds, which looked more torn up than before, and was coating the floor below with drops of crimson red.

A surprised gasp from above barely startled me, and I slowly looked up to see three blurred figures standing over me and looking down. All I could make out of them was that one was gray and tall and the other two were blonde, with one being a few inches taller than the other.

"Please…" My voice was barely above a breath. "I… I need your…"

The world around me spun and faded into black as my arms gave out, losing consciousness before I even felt my head hit the ground.

* * *

**AN: Holy crap guys, a new chapter after a month of waiting! I'm sorry for the wait, school's been kicking my butt for the past few weeks with exams and projects, and it's been hard for me to even pick up a pencil and write a paragraph for this story. Hopefully by May, I'll be able to update more frequently.**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated too! While this isn't my first fanfiction I've ever wrote, it's my first one published on and I'd love your guys' opinions! Whether it's about the characters, the wording, or the story as a whole, I'd love to hear what you guys think.**

**Also, thanks to kiers and AlltimeFictionReader for being my first reviewers! You guys rock!**

**Until next time, sharia013 signing out. Hope you enjoyed!**


End file.
